<p>SM2010, thanks for providing such in-depth information. The program sounds amazing and the details really help explain what is offered.</p>
<p>If there are any more postgrad tech theater students (or their parents) who are still reading this forum, could you share your stories about life after college? What was your first job? What happened next? Did you stay in the same field? Do you have any words of advice?</p>
<p>I have a junior in HS who is interested in Design/Tech. We are in the process of visiting schools and getting ready to start his portfolio. I would say our favorite school at the moment is UNCSA. Their facilities were amazing. We are visiting Coastal Carolina in a few weeks. I know the Tech group is small, but I would love to hear from others in this major. </p>
<p>Bumping. Any other Design/Tech’s applying this year?
My DS list is:</p>
<p>UNCSA
SUNY Purchase
Webster
NYU
Rutgers U
Coastal Carolina
Montclair State U
East Carolina U
Western Carolina U (BA)
He is interested in Technical Direction/Production. </p>
<p>Good luck! My son applied to technical direction/production programs last year. Feel free to ask me any questions as you go along and as portfolio reviews get closer. </p>
<p>Thank you GCmom! What schools did your son apply to and where is he now? </p>
<p>He applied to:</p>
<p>Purchase
UNCSA
CalArts
Ithaca
Webster
URI
DePaul</p>
<p>He’ll be going to Purchase. </p>
<p>Could you tell me why he choose Purchase? It is high up on my son"s list also.</p>
<p>We live in state so the price is fantastic. We both loved UNCSA. He loved CalArts, but had never been there, was mostly enthralled with the idea of going to CA. </p>
<p>I think that the programs at Purchase and UNCSA are very similar. Both schools talk a lot about their connections in the industry. I thought my S would end up at UNCSA, partly because he thought his Purchase portfolio review hadn’t gone well. And also because we both got a great vibe there. But, he got into Purchase, and NC is raising tuition pretty drastically for OOS students. So, the decision was an easier one to make. </p>
<p>They do both look similar. We are in NC and the in state tuition for UNCSA is a major factor for us. What would you do differently looking back? SUNY Purchase is a fantastic school congrats!</p>
<p>Thank you! Hmmmm, what would we do differently? Not much, he was accepted everywhere, he had very good training in high school. The one thing I regret is that I really thought he wasn’t going to get into Purchase, so I really talked up UNCSA. So much that I was afraid he preferred it in the end. </p>
<p>The in state tuition is such a great deal. I loved UNCSA and the head of the TD department was so welcoming and nice. I’ll always feel a little sad he’s not going there. </p>
<p>He got into all the schools? Wow! That is wonderful! We have toured UNCSA and we are going back in the fall so that my son can sit in on some classes and talk with the TD department. Any advice? My son transferred to an Arts magnet school in his junior year when he realized that he was interested in Tech Theater. He wishes he had been there longer, but in the one year he has learned so much and been able to work on some great shows. He also had an apprentice this summer at a community theater that went really well. We just purchased his portfolio and he is starting to organize how it will be presented. It is so nice to hear from someone who has gone through this already! </p>
<p>Good idea to sit in on classes. My son did that at UNCSA so when he went back for his portfolio review he wasn’t a completely new face. </p>
<p>He was successful in admissions I think because he had some good experience in high school. He went to a performing arts high school and increased his level of responsibility each year so that he ended up as assistant TD and TD of shows senior year. </p>
<p>His portfolio was all photos of sets/pieces of sets he worked on. He had photos of the process, not just the final product. He was prepared to talk about the construction. </p>
<p>I’m sure your son will do well. I don’t think you have to be doing it for 4 years. It sounds like he is getting some good experience. </p>
<p>Thanks GCmom! Did you go to each school for Portfolio reviews or did you do Unifieds? </p>
<p>We mostly went to the schools. I think Webster was the only one he did at Unifieds. </p>
<p>Does anyone know the acceptance rates for any of the BFA technical theatre programs? </p>
<p>I would be interested to know as we’ll. it seems just about every decent tech student at my D’s high school easily got into top BFA tech programs (UNCSA, Ohio & Syracuse). We had two this year get into UNCSA and one to Ohio. </p>
<p>I think it can be difficult to say because most design/tech programs (they are typically known as “design and production” ) accept varying numbers each year even within the same program. II think I am correct in recalling that each said they would only accept as many as they truly felt were very strong candidates for their program and would be willing to not accept any in a given year if there were no candidates they felt would be successful. Of course, they all have an upper limit- usually a maximum of 12. Some folks say design programs are “easier” to get into- but it’s all relative. The training demands are so intense and extensive they can only accept a handful of students. Some programs accepted as few as 5 for their class the year my DC applied and I think the largest may have been 12 (I’m speaking for portfolio-based programs only). The reason they may appear easier to get into is that there are less applicants. However, that’s the case for a reason. Which is that it takes not only artistic talent, but also a special personality for this craft, as well as a lot of endurance- physical and intellectual, 
</p>
<p>As an addendum to my earlier post- some programs, like DePaul, take specific numbers into each concentratio and that number can vary by year (lighting could be less than a handful as an example). UNCSA starts everyone in the production track in theatre tech, but at the end of the second year, students will divide into two tracks (tech OR design) and it is the faculty that make that decision. They do have amazing equipment so even if you focus on tech rather than design, what a great environment to hone those talents. But, all of this variability also makes it a little difficult to know exactly what the class “numbers” are. Some programs teach almost no tech skills and are very heavily weighted in design, and others are more balanced. This makes it really important to ask a lot of specific questions during your interview. Sometimes the smaller schools have better performance spaces, which also makes personal visits very helpful before making a final decision. </p>
<p>CMU also starts all students in DTP track and students declare a major at the end of Sophomore year. But they take about twice as many students. As lightingmom says, it varies, but the total is usually in the low 20s. From what I’ve heard, this is about a quarter to a third of the students who apply. Then they will lose roughly one in 4 before graduation. CMU does whatever it can to keep them, but it’s a very specialized program, and students tend to drop out because they decide it’s not exactly what they wanted.</p>